1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to closing devices for drawers, often incorporated into drawer slides otherwise known as self-closing drawer slides. Such drawer slides tend to be used in articles of furniture, such as cabinets, for assisting in moving a drawer to a fully closed position within the cabinet body.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Articles of furniture having drawers, such as cabinets, typically include drawer slides for mounting the drawers to the cabinet and for providing a way to move the drawer between a fully closed position within the cabinet body to an open position with the drawer extending outward from the cabinet body. Standard drawer slides tend to be mounted in pairs, with one on each of the left and right outer sides of the drawer. In such configuration, one drawer slide member is attached to the cabinet body and a second drawer slide member is attached to the outer side of the drawer. Bearings, such as ball or roller bearings, typically are disposed between the drawer slide members for smooth movement of the drawer relative to the cabinet body. The bearings may be organized and located within a bearing retainer. Also, there may be a third drawer slide member coupled to and between the first and second drawer slide members, with a corresponding additional set of bearings, to permit further extension of the drawer from the cabinet body. Mounting drawer slides on the sides of the drawer necessarily requires that the drawer body be considerably narrower than the opening in the cabinet for the drawer.
Alternatively, drawer slides may be of an undermount configuration wherein the second drawer member of each of the drawer slides is located beneath and at a respective outer side edge of the drawer bottom. In the undermount configuration, the drawer may be much closer to the width of the opening in the cabinet because each drawer slide member is not located entirely between a cabinet side and a drawer side. In both the standard and undermount configurations, it is desirable to assist a user in closing a drawer, to prevent rebound of the drawer, and to tend to hold the drawer in a closed position.
There are numerous self-closing drawer slide devices designed to be engaged as a drawer is being closed and reaches a predetermined distance from the cabinet face. Such devices often incorporate a spring to help push or pull the drawer to the fully closed position. It is common for these devices to include a latching member that is tiltable or pivotable, so as to be used in controlling the movement of the drawer relative to the cabinet body within a pre-selected range of motion of the drawer. Such prior art devices often include a pin or tab to force the latching member to tilt or pivot from a latched to an unlatched position or vice versa. In turn, either the latching member or pin commonly is associated with one of the drawer sides or slide members, while the other corresponding component is associated with the other drawer slide member.
In some other prior art devices, the latching member may be on a slider that moves both longitudinally and laterally, along an L or J shaped slot in a planar wall of a housing, as the drawer moves within a pre-selected range of travel when nearly closed. These devices also may include a specialized angular slot at the end of one of the drawer slide members, so as to engage a post or other protrusion extending from the body of the slider, to effectively move the latching member between latched and unlatched positions.
While such tiltable or pivotable latching member and pin assemblies function for their intended purpose, they present potential problems in regard to wear of the pivoting and spring components, noise associated with the pivoting components as they move from one position to another, as well as noise associated with the spring as it is bent or shifts within its mounting relationship with the latching member or housing as the latching member tilts, pivots and/or translates. In some prior art devices, a coiled spring is used and moves between a compressed and a relaxed position to push a drawer closed. However, use of a spring in compression requires control of the spring as it is compressed, to prevent the spring from buckling outward in the middle. Sometimes the spring in such devices is referred to as a compression spring. To control a compression spring, it has been common to use a pin or rod through the center of the spring, or walls in close relation to each other to contain the spring at one end of the latching member. In other prior art devices, springs are used and are stretched with movement of the slider to the latched position, with the springs sometimes being referred to as extension springs. This stretching may occur with the spring having to bend or interfere with housing walls due to the path of the slider.
It is desirable to provide a closing device for drawers that can be incorporated into drawer slides, including undermount drawer slides, while avoiding the potential disadvantages of self-closing drawer slides that use latching members that tilt, rotate or translate both longitudinally and laterally. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a simplified closing device which eliminates the tilting, pivoting or multi-directional translational movement of a latching member. Thus, it is desirable to provide a housing and a simplified slider having a latching member where the slider moves only along one axis. This is desirable to avoid excess noise that may be associated with components that rotate or pivot from one extreme position to another. This simplified housing and corresponding slider with latching member is suited for use with springs that may be extended or compressed during the course of the movement to the latched position. Indeed, this permits a spring to be used in tension to avoid the need for a pin or rod through the spring or containment walls, either of which prevents buckling via contact with the coils of the spring as it moves, but which also tends to impart undesirable noise due to the contact necessary to prevent the buckling. Alternatively, the invention may be configured to use a spring in compression, while still benefiting from the simplified structure that permits relatively limited movement of the slider having the latching member attached thereto. Hence, the present invention addresses shortcomings in prior art self-closing drawer slide assemblies, while providing quiet, smooth-operating closing devices for use with a drawer slide.